The Courtesan

by Julia Justiss

After surviving Waterloo, Captain Jack Carrington returns home to take up his family duties and find himself a wife. Until he encounters Lady Belle, the most beautiful and celebrated courtesan in all of London.

After the death of her long-term protector, Belle intends to spurn the entreaties of her London admirers and retreat to her country manor. Then a fencing match gone wrong with the arresting Jack Carrington upsets all her careful plans.

Who is the mysterious Belle? A jaded Cyprian seeking a new protector? A kind friend who helps those in need? A mistress of sensual delight who can lead a man into irredeemable folly? Though Belle is a woman Jack can neither afford to keep nor dare to marry, he is willing to risk everything to find out.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, British Literature

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Julia Justiss grew up breathing the scent of sea air near the colonial town of Annapolis, Maryland, a fact responsible for two of her life-long passions: sailors and history! By age twelve she was a junior tour guide for Historic Annapolis, conducting visitors on walking tours through the city that was a hotbed of revolutionary fervor. (Annapolis hosted its own tea party, dispensing with the cargo aboard the "Peggy Stewart," and was briefly capital of the United States.) She also took tourists through Annapolis's other big attraction, the United States Naval Academy. After so many years of observing future naval officers at P-rade and chapel, it seemed almost inevitable that she eventually married one.

But long before embarking on romantic adventures of her own, she read about them, transporting herself to such favorite venues as ancient Egypt, World War II submarine patrols, the Old South and, of course, Regency England. Soon she was keeping notebooks for jotting down story ideas. From plotting adventures for her first favorite heroine Nancy Drew she went on to write poetry in high school and college, then worked as a business journalist doing speeches, sales promotion material and newsletter articles. After her marriage to a naval lieutenant took her overseas, she wrote the newsletter for the American Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia and traveled extensively throughout Europe. Before leaving Tunis, she fulfilled her first goal: completing a Regency novel.

Children intervened, and not until her husband left the Navy to return to his Texas homeland did she sit down to pen a second novel. The reply to her fan mail letter to a Regency author led her to Romance Writers of America. From the very first meeting, she knew she'd found a home among fellow writers--doubtless the largest group of people outside a mental institution who talk back to the voices in their heads.

Her second goal was achieved the day before her birthday in May, 1998 when Margaret Marbury of Harlequin Historicals offered to buy that second book, the Golden-Heart-Award winning novel that became THE WEDDING GAMBLE. Since then, she has gone on to write fourteen novels, three novellas and an on-line serial, along the way winning or finalling for historical awards from The Golden Quill, the National Reader’s Choice, Romantic Times, and All About Romance’s Favorite Book of the Year.

Julia now inhabits an English Georgian-style house she and her husband built in the East Texas countryside where, if she closes her eyes and ignores the summer thermometer, she can almost imagine she inhabits the landscape of "Pride and Prejudice." In between travelling to visit her three children (a naval officer son stationed in Washington, DC, a textiles and design major daughter who cheers for University of Texas at Austin, and a mechanical engineering major son also at UT Austin) keeping up with her science teacher husband and juggling a part-time day job as a high school French teacher, she pursues her first and dearest love--crafting stories.

To relax, she enjoys watching movies, reading (historical fiction, mystery, suspense) and puttering about in the garden trying to kill off more weeds than flowers.

Reviews

[Adélie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this SO badly!
The book was amazing at the start with an awesome fencing sequence and the plot is super interesting.
But sadly the characters don’t have a lot of depth to them.
The hero is very bland and his trauma after surviving Waterloo isn’t really explored by the author. Like it feels very surface level.
The dialogues felt a bit flat too and so did the romance. I didn’t really feel the sparks or connection or any chemistry.
Which is suuuuuch a shame because the plot is actually good and I really enjoyed the fencing at the start.
The cover is also stunning. I want that framed in my house.
This book has so much potential but it just didn’t do it for me.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful story, heart wrenching at times.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the female protagonist - strong, intelligent, warrior woman.

[ann_zack_cee_am_ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW : Rape, violence, sexual assault

A beautiful though a very heart-wrenching story especially towards the end. FMC has such a tragic backstory as to how she ends up being a bought woman. Though the title suggests her as a courtesan, she has only had been a mistress of a protector named Lord Bellingham. Even then, she did not enter the profession willingly but under his coercion in order to support her little sister after the dearh of their parents.

Jack Carrington, a war veteran took notice of her astounding beauty and got infatuated with her since. He heard sordid tales and stories about her via his friends but none diminished her allure to him, in fact he got even more intrigued by her stoic nature. Apparently she was also a very skilled fencer so he decided to have a go against her under a wager made by his friends. During the duel, the cover slipped off from Belle’s fence so it penetrated Jack’s shoulder, causing him to lose consciousness. She decided to nurse him back at her house so it was during his time of recovery that these two managed to fall in love with one another.

As I’m quite done with rakes in HR, Jack is such a breath of fresh air. He’s no rake, not an alpha nor is he promiscuous either. He’s just your average Joe kind of hero. Belle was a headstrong woman with a high wall of emotional resistance erected over many years living in a man’s hands.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the lack of steaminess and the rape towards the end, which had soured my mood. The HEA felt lacklustre after what transpired prior to that. Just wish the villain received a much bigger punishment for what he did to Belle.

[The Book Coyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. It is well written and the characters are interesting, although I found myself thinking that perhaps Jack was a little too good. Belle's story reveals itself slowly and keeps the reader interested. One major problems I had with this book, however, is how it "tells" you rather than "shows" you how the characters are feeling. There's a lot of "telling" - page after page in each character's head, but sometimes I'd like to see that for myself, and there wasn't quite enough of that.

[Penny Hampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author. The period depicted was well researched and the characters were well drawn and believable; the plot was also a little different and gripping. My only complaint is that the ending seemed a bit rushed and the tying up of loose ends seemed overly contrived. However, I will definitely read more books by this author.

[Betty Sotherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is a great storyteller

A very engaging read. The author knows how to weave a historical romance that can curl your toes. The plots are interwoven seamlessly to hold your interest to the very last word. I recommend this book to any historical romance reader you will love it.

[TravelsReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's well written, but I can't buy the argument that any "courtesan" of that era would have been accepted by "polite society", no matter what the reasons. It's too far-fetched, even for a romance novel.

[ChristineZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. I find it hard to believe that she was THAT good after learning how to fence since her protector died. But the author did a good job describing her feelings of helplessness while she was a courtesan. Sweet love story.

[Monique Lebrocq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this on my shelves.
Don’t remember buying it.
But it was so good!

[BRNTerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel was published by HQN (Harlequin) in 2005. It was mentioned on a romance forum/message board that the heroine was raped in this. That caught my attention because I had no idea that authors were still putting rape in novels. I didn’t know it was ‘allowed’, for lack of a better word. So I got the book, started reading it sometime in 2006 and quickly got bored with it. I traded the book without having gotten very far in it and later regretted it. Three years later I got it again and just now reread it.

The story takes place in England in the 1800s. Belle, 22ish, blonde, blue eyed, is a courtesan prostitute to noblemen) and her lover died less than a month before. The hero is Jack.

I must say this was one of the slowest and most boring books that I’ve ever read. Words can’t really describe how let down I feel. The first two thirds or so was just Jack recovering from his wound at Belle’s. To me, that just wasn’t believable. There was no reason at all for Jack to have been taken to Belle’s when he could have gone to a friend, or family members, home to recover. Why would you stay at a known prostitute’s home? And adding Jane to the story was pointless simply because it did noting for it. Jane wasn’t mentioned much after she came to live with Belle. And the stuff with Kitty thinking her sister dead, well, it just wasn’t needed. I do think the rape was thrown in just for shock value and the strange thing was, it wasn’t shocking at all.

She could have had the rape take place midway though the story and the rest could have been Jack helping Belle ‘recover’ and them falling in love with each other.

I won’t be trying this author again. Overall, I was terribly disappointed with the story. It could have been such a great love story; man falling for ex fallen woman and all that pretty stuff. This wasn’t a bodice ripper though it did have one bodice ripper-like scene near the the end, with the rape.

[Shanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a romance with a great plot, believable characters, strong female, and just enough romance! I've never read a regency novel. Thanks to this book, I've ordered a lot more of her books.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to try a full-length novel by this author, since I'd enjoyed her novella AN HONEST BARGAIN in Harlequin's Officer's Bride collection. After reading the back cover description, I was a little worried that this would be a lust-fest book, but I was pleasantly surprised.

If you're sick of domineering men who ignore what the women want, then you'll love this book, because Jack was so wonderfully respectful of Belle. He was kind and gentle, yet never appeared weak. I really like that he wanted Belle to come to him willingly, or he was prepared not to have her at all. So many romances are filled with men who have an "I love you and you're going to do what I say" attitude, so Jack was a really refreshing change from that kind of nonsense.

I was also worried that I wouldn't like Belle, since she was basically a one-man prostitute. But Belle had been forced into that life, and had never wanted to become any man's harlot. I ended up really liking her and feeling for her. I felt that she and Jack really complimented each other, and it was easy to cheer for them to be together. The attraction between them was based on more than sex, which is also a welcome change in the romance world. I could see why these two should be together.

I also like how the problems keeping them apart were more compelling than just stupid pride or big misunderstandings. There were real issues to be dealt with, and obstacles that seemed insurmountable.

My only complaint was that I felt the ended was a little too good to be true, which is where the book lost a star. I found it a little hard to believe that Belle would have been accepted by society, no matter who was supporting her or who her relations were. The ton was very unforgiving! But that's a minor flaw, and I still think the book is worth a read.

I will be on the lookout for more books by this author!

[Cristina Contilli]

"Quando si passa attraverso l'inferno e ci si ritrova ancora vivi, non si può fare a meno di interrogarsi sul senso della vita. Forse è giunto il momento che io mi sposi e assolva ai miei doveri."

La protagonista di questo rosa non è una giovane vergine, ma una cortigiana, apprezzata anche per la sua bravura come schermitrice, ora bisognerà vedere come Jack che il primogenito di una famiglia nobile riuscirà a far "digerire" ai suoi familiari una sposa così insolita... essendo un romance anche se sono ancora all'inizio è logico che ci riuscirà, ma l'abilità o meno dell'autrice si vedrà da come riuscirà a rendere credibile questo passaggio.

In alcuni punti (come temevo) è effettivamente un po' forzato, ma come si fa a non innamorararsi di un uomo che ti dice "I nostri cuori battono all'unisono. E' questa l'intimità, Belle. Tra me e voi non potrà che essere così."

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both a sweet romance with a fairy tale ending and a dark story of rape and abuse, The Courtesan is a well written regency historical. Our heroine, Constance, is a well bred girl left abandoned at an inn after the death of her mother. Tricked into living with a licentious peer, she becomes his courtesan for 6 years, blackmailed into staying at his side or risk exposing her sister to scandal. When Bellingham dies, the "Lady Belle" seeks to escape all men's notice, which of course makes her more noticeable, especially to returning war hero Captain Jack.

[Annii · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. It is well written and the characters are interesting, although I found myself thinking that perhaps Jack was a little too good. Belle's story reveals itself slowly and keeps the reader interested. One major problems I had with this book, however, is how it "tells" you rather than "shows" you how the characters are feeling. There's a lot of "telling" - page after page in each character's head, but sometimes I'd like to see that for myself, and there wasn't quite enough of that.

[Elisa Vangelisti]

È un romanzo adatto a chi ha pazienza. In breve, lei è una cortigiana (The courtesan è il titolo originale), ma anche un’abile spadaccina. Lui la sfida e lei, senza volere, lo ferisce. Quindi lo porta a casa sua, per curarlo. Ovviamente lui è infatuato di lei, mentre lei non vuole più avere a che fare con un uomo. Senz’altro si ricrederà, ma non ho voglia di aspettare un altro mezzo romanzo per scoprirlo.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

All I saw was a version of Bridgerton season 2 😁 as I read this- which is not a bag thing.
It was good. Our heroine had a tough road for sure and my feminist heart raged against the injustice.

[Lynn Calvin]

headless woman cover

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

libro flojo, el personaje masculino se desinfla a las pocas paginas de leerlo... el libro promete pero a las pocas paginas se queda en nada y no remonta en el fin...

[Feathzzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

read while in jail. Actual rating: 2.7

[Coral · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor Belle. Hasn't that poor woman been though enough? And Jack is just too perfect: perfect soldier, perfect family, perfect gentleman. Couldn't really get into this one.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Really drawls your attention and holds it.

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original, me hubiera gustado mas pasion.